Updates
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National Park Updates
Timed Entry Parks*
Glacier (no longer required, but for 2026, shuttles only go to Logan Pass on Going-to-the-Sun Road, shuttle reservations are required)
Carlsbad Caverns (Reservation required for self-guided Natural Entrance Tour)
Rocky Mountain
Arches (no longer required)
Yosemite (no longer required)
Mount Rainier (no longer required)
*A permit is required to drive into specific areas during periods of peak visitation. It does not guarantee parking. Entrance fee is not included with permit fee. You can enter freely before/after the timed-entry period or use alternate entrances (at some parks).
Permit-Required Attractions
Cadillac Mountain (Acadia)
Old Rag (Shenandoah)
Parking Permit (Great Smoky Mountains)
Tram Tours (Gateway Arch)
Cave Tours (Carlsbad Caverns)
Cliff Dwelling Tours (Mesa Verde)
Inner Canyon (Black Canyon of the Gunnison)
White Rim Road (Canyonlands)
Angel's Landing (spring, summer, fall, winter) (Zion)
Narrows - Overnight, Full, or Beyond Big Springs (Zion)
Subway/Left Fork (Zion)
Toroweap (Grand Canyon)
Mount Whitney (Sequoia)
Half Dome (Yosemite)
Tall Trees (Redwood)
Fern Canyon (Redwood)
Sunrise (Haleakala)
Camping Reservations Required
Acadia
Shenandoah
Great Smoky Mountains
Congaree
Grand Teton
Yellowstone / Xanterra
Glacier
Hot Springs
Big Bend
Rocky Mountain
Zion
Grand Canyon
Joshua Tree
Sequoia-Kings Canyon
Yosemite
Lassen Volcanic
Olympic
Monitor Conditions
Fire and Smoke Map (unfortunately, you have to plan for wildfires and smoke, especially for summer travel)
Current Kilauea Activity (if you're headed to Hawaii, you want to know what Kilauea is doing)
Naitonal Weather Service (I feel like NOAA is the best weather app, and I believe all other sites use NOAA data, but it's never a bad idea to check multiple sources. I typically check weather through a GPS and phone, and often times, they do not agree.)
Live Road Conditions (Waze is great for live road conditions. It can save you a lot of time detouring around unexpected obstacles.)
And two things people love that I don't actively use, but may make your travels more enjoyable.
Merlin Bird ID (Watch some birds! I never feel like I have time to sit around and watch the birds, hopefully in a few years I can slow down a bit.)
Stellarium (Similar to the bird situation, I regularly think about observing the sky at night, but, particularly in summer, I'm usually spent from being active from sun-up to sun-down. A lot of the parks have been emphasing Night Sky Programs, not only because it's cool, but because it's just much easier to get around some of the more popular parks around dusk.)
Closures (East)
- Precipice Trail (and Penobscot East, Jordan Cliffs) closed each summer for nesting raptors
- Vehicle break-ins have tripled in Cuyahoga Valley since 2022
- Cunard Road closed November thru March (until 2027)
- Reminder: Tickets required to enter Mammoth Cave
- Moat Wall is closed until Fall 2026
Closures (North)
- Wind Cave has the most temperamental elevator in the country, check its status before booking tours
Closures (South)
- There are regular closures (typically in the morning) for military testing
Closures (Southwest)
- Trail Ridge Road (closed seasonally for winter)
- Old Fall River Road (closed seasonally for winter)
- Elk Rut Closures: Horseshoe Park, Moraine Park, Upper Beaver Meadows, Harbison Meadow, and Holzwarth Meadow (September - October)
- Raptor Closures (February 15 - July 31)
- East Shore Trail (Bald Eagle Closure, November 15 - March 15)
- Bighorn Sheep Closures: Horseshoe Park, West Alluvial Fan (April 15 - August 31)
- Tundra Closures: Forest Canyon Overlook, Rock Cut, Lava Cliffs, Gore Range Overlook, Alpine Visitor Center (off-trail hiking is prohibited within 100 yards of the trails and parking lots)
Black Canyon of the Gunnison
- Spruce Tree House has been closed to self-guided tours since 2015
Capitol Reef
- Seasonal Canyon Closures: Burro Wash, Fivemile Wash, Shinob Canyon, Headquarters Canyon (closed April 1 - August 31)
- Click the link above for seasonal closures
- Observation Point Trail/Hidden Canyon Trail from Zion Canyon remain closed due to a 2018 rockfall - You can reach Observation Point via East Mesa Trail (East Mesa or Stave trailheads)
- The Narrows closes based on water flow rate. Click here for current status.
- North Rim closes seasonally for winter
- Bright Angel Campground (closed until May 15)
- Tusayan Museum (closed, TBD)
- Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive closes seasonally for winter
Closures (West)
- NPS wants you to use their app for hiking - It's probably fine; I use AllTrails, which is great but you have to read between the reviews (some of the best hikes I've done, I've found by hunting down selfish individuals who leave nothing but 1-star reviews--others bombard great trails with glowing 4-star reviews; lots of games are played).
- Santa Barbara Island Dock (closed, TBD)
- Talus caves close periodically due to flooding and seasonally for bats. Click here for status.
- Click here for rock climbing closures.
- Road to Lower Darwin Falls Trailhead is washed out. Hikers must park along CA-190 and walk in.
- Click here for current road status.
- Click link above for seasonal road closures.
- Kings Canyon Visitor Center is closed on Tuesdays
- Click link above for seasonal road closures.
- Half Dome cables are lifted and wooden slats installed around Memorial Day and dropped/removed in October.
- Click link above for seasonal road closures.
- Click link above for seasonal road closures and footbridge status.
- Click link above for seasonal road closures.
- Cleetwood Cove Trail is scheduled to close for the 2026 and 2027 season (meaning no swimming or boat tours those years)
- Carbon River/Mowich Lake (closed indefinitely due to degrading bridge)
- Grove of the Patriarchs Trail (closed since 2021)
- Click here for current park road status.
- Elwha (closed to vehicles beyond Madison Falls)
- Click here for current park road status.
- Click link above for seasonal road closures.
- Hozomeen (remains closed to vehicles through Canada)
Closures (Alaska)
Seasonal closures are not included.
Glacier Bay
- Denali Park Road closed beyond Mile 43 (until summer 2026 at the earliest for construction of a $100M suspension bridge) - You can still fly into Kantishna
Closures (Remote Islands)
- Caneel Bay Resort (permanently closed)
- Pools of 'Ohe'o (AKA 'Ohe'o Gulch, 7 Sacred Pools) closed to swimming
- Mauna Loa Observatory Trail (closed due to Mauna Loa eruption in 2022)
- Expect construction delays between the entrance station and former site of Jaggar Museum
Cashless Parks*
Acadia, Isle Royale, Badlands, Wind Cave, Rocky Mountain, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Death Valley, Sequoia-Kings Canyon, Crater Lake, Mount Rainier, Hawaii Volcanoes
*Cash is not accepted for entrance fee, permit fees, camping fees (for NPS run campgrounds), etc.
Book Corrections
Your Guide to the National Parks
Out now. I noticed a few minor map issues, but no real mistakes yet.
National Park Maps
Page 34: one car leave(s)
Page 74: Background shifted
Page 118: Lehman Peak -> Wheeler Peak
Page 119: Wheeler Park -> Wheeler Peak
(not sure why my brain had such a difficult time with Wheeler Peak 🙂
Page 124: Channel Islands Aviation doesn't provide flights to the islands anymore
Dayhiker's Guide
Page 77: Caprock Coulee is a loop not out-and-back
Page 169: Sand Dune Arch/Broken Arch/Tapestry Arch is a lollipop (with spurs to Sand Dune and Tapestry) not an out-and-back
Page 281: Ladybird -> Lady Bird
Page 283: Cal-Barrel Road does not go through to US-101
Page 307: High Divide/Seven Lakes Basin
Public Land
Page 172 blurb: popularion -> population
birthrate -> birth rate